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Bostswana, South Africa & Zambia Tour - August 29, 2019

LBloniarz

Just booked this tour and very excited....it is now sold out....anyone else on this tour?

Comments

cb2labs

LBloniarz wrote:

Just booked this tour and very excited....it is now sold out....anyone else on this tour?

Not on your tour, but doing the tour in May 2019...I am also very excited...I have done the tanzania/zanzibar tour last July, and got hooked! My tour director, who was wonderful, along with all I came in contact with, does the Botswana tour also. He said it is an amazing experience, and suggested that one if I choose to go back. This next trip I will be traveling Solo but have no hesitation since everyone is so welcoming....

LBloniarz

We did the Tanzania Kenya tour in 2012 and just loved it. I think that year they didn't offer the tanzania/zanzibar option for some reason. I see a number of tours in May/June booking already. What made you select that time of year? Our Tanzania / Kenya Tour Director had suggested we do Bostswana Tour in August/September. It was hard trying to figure out best time to go between Delta waters, animals, cape town weather etc.

cb2labs

LBloniarz wrote:

We did the Tanzania Kenya tour in 2012 and just loved it. I think that year they didn't offer the tanzania/zanzibar option for some reason. I see a number of tours in May/June booking already. What made you select that time of year? Our Tanzania / Kenya Tour Director had suggested we do Bostswana Tour in August/September. It was hard trying to figure out best time to go between Delta waters, animals, cape town weather etc.

You are right, such a difficult decision to decide when to go. For me, May 2019 works better with my schedule. Hopefully, water levels will be high for activities and animal viewing. I was looking for milder temperatures on the safari locations rather than higher temperatures as the summer goes on. I don't know that there is a bad choice, each date offered will be a "trip of lifetime" for all.

KathrynH

We chose to depart at the end of March and see the southern countries in Africa in early April. The rainy season will be ending and I found some online quotes that intrigued me about doing an autumn visit. (March will be the end of Botswana's summer):

Internet reports for April suggested that Cape Town highs would average 72°F with lows of 54°F and the highest average temperature would be experienced in the Kalahari (87°F) in early April; Maun’s highest average temperature would be around 95°F in October, by contrast.

A travel site said: “...plenty of rain through to end of March means this spectacular wetland system becomes so verdant that it hurts your eyes and you need a good pair of sunglasses! Finding appropriate adjectives for the numerous and varying shades of green would stun even the best paint company!"

The website goes on to discuss "thick foliage bursting out of canals and wetlands during this amazing wet season phenomenon. Some of the main highlights of the rainy season are the number of newborn animals being dropped, the quantity of migrating birds that keen birders can tick off, and the cooler evenings and mornings.”

The travel site continues: “... visiting the Delta during April offers you the perks of seeing the end of the rains, the peak of the lush growth, and the chance to see small animals staggering around on shaky legs. ... If there were a particularly high rainfall in March, the Okavango Delta literally hums with life and animals start to head into the Kalahari, the Makgadigadi Pans and Chobe National Park. They disperse into these habitats, making them harder to find--so you need to consider adding the Kalahari area to your itinerary! This way, you could head south during April when the water levels drop a bit and animals are moving!”

Another travel website warns: “If you don’t like rain and bugs then don’t go in March. Insects are rife and rain falls regularly, maybe hampering your plans to walk or to boat." [There were mosquitoes in the van that collected us from the airport in Arusha so we figured that mosquitoes are pretty common everywhere in Africa.]

Another website reported that "... During these summer rains, the flood waters are literally swollen with water, the Okavango River flowing from Angola into Botswana at the Caprivi Strip, then into the fan-shaped Delta. Then, all of a sudden, they disappear! They soak into the Kalahari as fast as bath water running down a plug hole, and as they disappear, life starts to grow, right before your very eyes. The huge diversity of flowers, plants, birds and animals is astonishing and you have to pinch yourself to make sure that you are not dreaming."

Moving on to temperatures during March and April in the Delta and the Kalahari Desert, one website notes that "... it is cooler during this month than during the height of summer and some days will be beautifully clear and sunny, others greyer and cloudier. During April, the skies clear up and temperatures start to fall, especially at night. Temperatures in the Okavango Delta, with its many camps and lodges, are more stable and less intense than in the Kalahari Desert which is much drier. But seeing the Kalahari in early April is a must – you get to see many more animals during this green season when wildlife tends to congregate on the plains and around the pans where food and water are plentiful.”

We visited Tanzania and Kenya in 2016 during the end-of-year holidays. At that time, we were hoping that we would benefit from the “Little Rainy Season” which allegedly ended in late November. There was NO rain during the “Little Rainy Season” in Equatorial Africa in 2016, so we experienced drought-like conditions. We were looking for something different on the next African safari. We would like to see some green in Africa.

AlanS

Choosing a time to go on B, SA, Z is difficult- certain times are better for one region (Livingstone/Falls, Okavango Delta, Cape Town) than another- there is no best time to see them all.

Temps vary more than K&T because though you are near the equator for most of the tour, and right on it while at Mt Kenya, you are in areas of high plains which temper the heat quite a bit even though the sun can be intense. SA is so much farther south (farther from the equator) and affected by the ocean. Through their winter months, June, July, August, in Botswana and Zambia temps can be downright chilly at night and in the mornings, it warms up considerably by mid-late day - layers is the key. Come Sept & Oct, Botswana can be very hot and humid- check out British's trip post. Tauck doesn't go to SA during their summer, so be prepared for cooler weather there. Weather can affect more then the temps- rain, fog over Table Mountain, and rough sea conditions for the trip to Seal Island.

Rains affect the flow over the Victoria Falls. Flow is max in May-June and yields good dramatic effects and aerial photos, but, the incredible amount of mist can make it tough to get good photos close to the falls at river level- you can get drenched and your camera lens covered with mist. Go too late, Oct-Nov, and flow can be almost nil.

The rains which fill the Okavanga Delta fall 1000+ miles north in the mountains of Angola in Jan-Feb, but take awhile to reach and fill the Delta, reaching max between June - August when the delta swells to three times its permanent size, attracting animals from kilometers around and creating one of Africa’s greatest concentrations of wildlife. However, by late October into November the levels can be so low that it can be hard to travel the waterways via Mokoro (dug out).